Top 100 Independent Restaurants

By Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth

Each year Restaurant Business Magazine gathers sales information, number of guests served, guest check averages, total square footage and number of dining seats from independent restaurants around the country.

In terms of sales, Zehnder’s ranked #68 among all independent restaurants in the nation. Zehnder’s guest check average of $14.28, was the lowest among the Top 100. The ‘21’ Club in New York had the highest guest check average at $169.57! Zehnder’s was second only to Virgil’s Real Barbeque located in New York City in total guests served. They served 994,594 guests to our 987,364; a difference of just 7,230 guests. Soooo close to number one!

Zehnder’s ranked #1 in total number of seats (1,500) and second only to the Bavarian Inn in total square footage; Zehnder’s has 80,000 square feet to Bavarian Inn’s 90,000.
Zehnder’s and Bavarian Inn were the only two restaurants among the Top 100 in Michigan and the only ones located in small towns. The majority of the Top 100 are located in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago and others sprinkled around major metropolitan areas.

I’m proud of the fact that here we are in a community of less than 5,000 people and we continually rank among the top independent restaurants in the nation.

Thanks to all of our wonderful guests and the number one hospitality team in the nation for making this happen!

Hospitably Yours,
Al Zehnder, CEO of Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth